And From Those Moments: Fallen
by MissBunburyHope
Summary: "Look after my little Katniss." After the first moment I saw her, I promised myself that I would grow up to marry the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, the girl with the beautiful voice: Katniss Everdeen. I hoped that the hardships we both faced when we were eleven and twelve would help us grow closer; I suppose I've got a few more years to try. Peeta: pre-Hunger Games
1. Chapter 1

**And From Those Moments: Fallen**

_**"Look after my little Katniss." After the first moment I saw her, I promised myself that I would grow up to marry the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, the girl with the beautiful voice: Katniss Everdeen. I hoped that the hardships we both faced when we were eleven and twelve would help us grow closer; I suppose I've got a few more years to try. Peeta: pre-Hunger Games**_

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**Chapter One**

"_We were five. You had a red plaid dress and your hair...it was in two braids instead of one. My dad pointed you out while we were waiting to line up. He said, 'See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner.' And I said, 'A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she could've had you?' And he said, 'Because when he sings...even the birds stop to listen.' So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She put you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, ever bird outside the windows fell silent. And right when your song ended, I knew -just like your mother- I was a goner."_

**(Peeta Mellark's POV)**

I am woken to the sound of loud footsteps outside my room and the voices of my two brothers hollering at each other down the corridor. I groan and cover my head with my pillow, pulling my threadbare blanket over me again. The sun's only just risen, why do they want to be up now, I wonder.

When I hear the squeak of my door, I stay in the same place until I hear my mum whisper, "Pete, honey, time to get up."

I push the pillow off my head and rub my eyes, sleepily mumbling, "Hey mum. Why do I need to get up so early?"

"It's your first day of school," she explains, sitting down on the edge of my bed and gently rubbing my messy blonde hair. "You don't want to be late now, do you?"

"I suppose not," I reply, sitting up and crossing my legs in front of me. I look out the window at the sunrise, through the ripped curtains and mutter, "It seems really early to get up though."

"Well, school starts at eight and you need to be there before so you don't get in late," she answers, standing up and offering her hand out to me so I can get up too.

I fall back onto the mattress and lay there until my mum's hands have grabbed me beneath the armpit. I squeal as she lifts me up and places me on the floor, tiggling me as she moves me.

"Come on," she laughs, ruffling my hair. "Go and have a shower then I'll help you get ready."

I nod and grab the thin towel of the end of my bed, making my way down the corridor to the bathroom.

"Hey muffin," shouts my second oldest brother, James.

"Morning Jim," I call back. "Morning Matt," I add for my eldest brother, wherever he may be.

I put my hand on the door handle for the bathroom and begin to turn it as James asks, "Has mum sent you to get ready so you look _nice_ on your first day of school? Recognise that this is the only day she'll care about your appearance-"

"Be quiet, James," I hear mum shouting from downstairs.

I smile and quietly answer to him, "Put you in your place, didn't it?"

Suddenly, the bathroom door opens and Matthew walks out, to find me fallen on the floor, my heart racing unbelievably fast. "Woah, muffin, what happened there?" he questions, stifling his laughter a lot more successful than James, who is now lying on the floor in his room, his laughter ringing through the house loud and clear.

"You gave me a fright, that's all," I complain, taking the hand he offers to help me back to my feet. I brush the dust from the wall off my shoulder as I feel my cheeks heating up. "I'm fine now though." I push past him and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me, embarrassed by my reaction to any everyday occurrence.

I sigh, dropping the towel onto the floor and taking off my too-small pyjamas before stepping into the shower and drawing the curtain around me as I start the water. As the first drops of cold water hit my head, I gasp at the temperature, finding it refreshing though. I quickly wash myself and my hair, knowing that I can't waste any water, and then turn off the shower.

I step out again and look around for the towel, unable to find it where I left it. I search the whole room, under everything until the thought occurs to me that James never likes to leave things easy for me. I scream out in frustration and kick out, stubbing my toe on the bathroom cabinet. Grabbing the only thing available, I throw my pyjamas back on and storm into my brothers' room, desperately planning to give them a piece of my mind.

When I walk in and find them both sitting on their own bed, I notice James holding my towel. He looks up at me and smirks, chucking the towel at me. "You may need another shower, muffin," he suggests with the hint of laughter in his voice as I catch the towel.

"Why?" I snap, attempting to incorporate some fierceness into my tone.

"Looks like you may have had an accident," he notes, looking at the dampness on my pyjamas from where I had to put them over my wet body.

"That's your fault!" I shout, running towards him and throwing myself on top, trying to punch him.

Within seconds, he's rolled us off his bed so I land on the floor with him on top. I try to roll us back over so I have the advantage but there's no point with him having been on the school wrestling team already for a year. After a few minutes of struggling to move, I attempt to punch him but he pins my arms down by my wrist and he stops my legs from moving by kneeling on my legs.

I glare at him and he knows instantly what I plan to do because he quickly grabs my towel from behind him and stuffs it into my mouth.

He smirks as Matthew says from the other side of the room, not at all worried about the fight in front of him, "There's no point fighting him. He knows every trick in the book, he tried them all on me."

"James Mellark!" screams mum as she makes her way to the top of the stairs and sees him pinning me to the floor. "Let go of him at once."

He pulls a face and mocks her quietly under his breath but doesn't actually move until mum grabs hold of his arm and pulls him off, throwing him against the wall. She then kneels down and picks me up, carefully hugging me to her chest. I hold back onto her tightly and hide my face in her hair.

"James, you know not to hurt him in the slightest," mum continues her rant against my brother. "He's only five, for Heaven's sake! How do you expect him to behave?"

"He started on me," argues James. I glance up and see him leaning up against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and a stony expression on his face.

"He stole my towel from the bathroom which is why I'm in my pyjamas again," I complain.

As his frown deepens and he throws death glares at me, he mutters under his breath, "Snitch." Something tells me that he should be grateful that I'm in the room with him but he does nothing to show this gratitude, quite the opposite in fact.

"Don't do it again," mum warns simply and my idea is completely supported because I've heard her use much harsher words before.

She walks out of their room quickly and back into mine, sitting on my bed and loosening her grip around me. I, on the other hand, possibly tighten my grip as I mumble, "Is everyone at school like that?"

She sighs and rubs my back, which I now realise is throbbing from the impact of the fall plus the weight of my brother. "That's just your brother being you brother," she replies. "No one else is like that."

"Good. I wouldn't want to go if they were like that," I admit, finally letting go of her and sliding onto my mattress next to her.

"Well, you are, honey," she reasons. "Do you want to dry off whilst I get your clothes?"

"I guess I should," I agree.

She smiles and kisses my head. "I'll be fast," she promises, standing up and swiftly exiting the room.

Once she leaves, I shut the door before taking my pyjamas off again as I wrap the towel around my body and beginning drying myself.

At the sound of a knock on the door, I ask, "Who's there?"

"It's me, darling," answers my mum. "May I come in?"

"Yes, of course," I say.

She walks in and shuts the door behind herself, kneeling down so her face is level with mine as she puts the clothes on my bed. She ruffles my hair and then brushes it flat. "They're brand new clothes," she promises, smiling.

I look at her, shocked by the fact. I've never had new clothes that I've been the first to wear; one or both of my brothers have always had them first. I watch her carefully as she first shows me my new pair of grey shorts, then my perfectly ironed white shirt, a black tie, and finally a matching grey jumper with a dark blue lining around the edge.

I quickly change into the new outfit, careful to not crease the shirt. Mum smiles again as she ties the tie around my neck and whispers, "My baby's all grown up."

I laugh and hug her. "Thank you," I mumble.

"Don't worry," she replies. She grabs my hand and leads me out of the room, downstairs into the bakery where my dad and two brothers are waiting to walk with me to school.

James sniggers when he sees me, which results in elbow in the ribs from my dad, who also smiles at me. As he brushes the flour off his jacket, he says, "Are you ready yet?"

I nod and turn to mum, where she places a kiss on my hair before I finish walking down the stairs to my dad. He takes his turn to ruffle my hair as my two brothers begin making their way out of the house and I follow them.

As I make my way to school, I keep silent so I don't embarrass myself once again. I glance around the town as we walk and take note of the coal dust that covers everywhere in sight. I can't empathise with the coal miners who are the foundation of this District and can sometimes die from their job because my job will be much simpler as a baker, which has always been the work of my family.

I wonder what the school will be like. Maybe the teachers and students _will _be like what my brothers have said they're like, or maybe they'll be completely different. I'm wishing that it will be much more exciting and interesting that I've heard tales of. I hope that I will make some good friends there that I can hang around with when I have free time from the bakery. My mum's really my best friend at the moment because she's always there for me and I can tell her anything.

"Have fun today, muffin," shouts James. I snap out of my thoughts and realise that we've reached school. "Good luck getting past the older kids," he adds as he leaves the courtyard in a run.

I laugh nervously and pull at my jumper until my dad says to distract me, "Don't stare, Peeta, but look over there."

I look over in the direction that he inclines his head and notice a girl my age, wearing a red plaid dress and a grey cardigan. She has olive skin and shining grey eyes, her dark hair tied in a braid down either side of her face. How can such a beautiful girl be the daughter of a Seam coal miner?

"See that little girl?" he asks, well aware that I've obviously noted her presence by now. I nod before he continues. "I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner."

I look back at him, staring incredulously at his reminiscent face, and repeat, "A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she could've had you?"

He smiles sadly as he nods. "Because when he sings...even the birds stop to listen."

I don't know what to say in response so I'm lucky in that moment that the year is called to be registered for the first time. I wave at him as I walk away, finding my place in the line, which is in alphabetical order. I scan up and down the line as it slowly moves, noting a few boys and girls that I've seen around town.

After a few seconds, I find my eyes locked onto the girl that dad pointed out earlier. Now that a few have already gone through, she is at the front. As she steps forward, the teacher calls, "Katniss Everdeen," to which she just nods before she seems to float away. I gaze longingly at her simple movements and try to remember her sweet name.

Soon, without realising because I was too busy staring at some particular classmates of mine, I find myself at the front of the line too.

"I know that you are Peeta Mellark but will you please consent it?" I hear the teacher beg after I've snapped from my thoughts due to a sharp kick in my shins.

"Err... Yes," I mutter, my focus still directed behind her.

She sighs and ticks my name. "I hope that you pay more attention in class, Mr Mellark."

I nod and finally walk into the hall to sit with some of my classmates for our first lesson: music. I glance around and note that Katniss is on the end, on her own, of the second row. I make my way to the end of the third row and sit directly behind her, gradually trying to pluck up the courage to talk to her as I study the back of her in more detail than before.

Just as I decide that I now have enough courage to at least ask if I can sit next to her so she's not lonely, the teacher shuts the doors and walks to the front of the hall with a smile on her pale face. I look up at her for a second to see that she has light brown hair pulled up into a bun, with piercing blue eyes in the sharp features of her face, then I direct my gaze back to Katniss.

"Good morning class, my name is Miss Beale," she introduces.

The class manages a small, "Good morning Miss Beale," in reply.

She nods her head, seemingly approving. "Thank you," she mutters as she turns around to find something that she needs to take from her bag.

"Excuse me, but would you like me to sit next to you so you're not on your own?" I ask in a whisper next to Katniss' ear.

She jumps slightly and turns to face me. She looks me up and down for a moment before saying, "I don't mind either way. I'm not really the most talkative of sorts so I don't mind being on my own, but you can sit here if you'd like."

She turns back around and I allow a small smile to pass over my lips as I slide off my seat and climb into the one next to Katniss. She flashes me a smile as I find my seat in the chair and I have to catch my breath; that was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"What's your name?" she asks quietly, keeping her eyes pointed forward, whereas mine are still staring at her because of that smile.

"Peeta Mellark," I tell her.

"Katniss Everdeen," she replies.

"Right, class," Miss Beale calls, turning my head to the front of the hall again and interrupting what could have been the start of an amazing and life changing conversation. "As you all know, this class is music. I'd first like to ask, does anyone know the Valley Song?"

At first, no noticeable hands are raised from the class because no one has time to sing here and now. Then, slowly and more obviously, a hand of the girl beside me is raised and I, once again, am left staring at her. Katniss looks around the room for a second and notices my expressions so laughs, lifting my chin with a soft hand and gentle touch to shut my mouth.

"Well then, Miss Everdeen, would you like to come to the front of the room and sing it for us?" questions the teacher, not really leaving Katniss with much choice but to say yes.

However, as she drops her hand, the expression on her face shows that she definitely doesn't want to sing it for us. I nudge her and admit, "I'd like to hear you sing, Katniss."

She glances at me as if she's trying to work out if I'm being truthful or not. After a short analysis of the pleading in my eyes, she sighs and stands up, muttering, "Just for you, Peeta," as she walks down to the front of the room.

Miss Beale pulls out a three-legged stool for her when she reaches the front. Katniss sits on it and crosses her legs up, waiting for the silence to fall in the class. As it gradually does, the only sound we can hear are the birds outside, singing their own sweet melody. Then Katniss begins her own.

"_Down in the valley, the valley so low,_

_Hang your head over, hear the wind blow,_

_Hear the wind blow, dear, hear the wind blow;_

_Hang you head over, hear the wind blow._

_Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you,_

_Know I love you, dear, know I love you;_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you._

_Build me a castle, forty feet high,_

_So I can see her as she rides by,_

_As she rides by, dear, as she rides by;_

_So I can see her as she rides by._

_Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you,_

_Know I love you, dear, know I love you;_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you."_

By the time that the final word has passed through her lips, the children in the class have all been drawn in by her enchanting voice. You can't even hear the birds outside anymore, they have stopped to listen too. And I now know that, like her mother, I'm a goner. I smile at the fact and hope that the same fate that joined her mother and father will join the two of us.

After a few minutes of silence, during which Katniss' cheeks turned a beautiful pink rose colour, the teacher finally claps and allows her to sit back down, but at the front in case she may be needed to sing again. As she finds a seat at the front, I stare longingly in her direction, wishing she could be sitting next to me again. She must feel my stare because she turns momentarily in my direction and smiles the captivating smile once again.

The rest of the lesson passes without me paying any attention, which is therefore lucky that none is needed. Then the class makes their way into an actual classroom, where Miss Beale teaches us to count and read, both of which I know how to do already from being in the bakery.

When we're in the classroom, I find Katniss in the room and focus my gaze on her as she concentrates. She does some cute things when she's concentrating: she twists one of her plaits around her hand when she's trying to work out a tricky problem; and she shuts her eyes and leans back, a smile crossing her lips, as she tries to imagine something. I'd really like to just sit next to her and help her because I've done it all myself already.

By the time the other students have half mastered the alphabet, I notice that Katniss looks as bored as I do. She stares out of the window and to the meadow, which is past our District's boundaries but I know that a few people from the Seam go there to hunt. I wonder if her father does and if she'll do so when she's older.

The final lesson of the day is art and we're told that we can draw whatever we like. This is the part of the day that interests me. I'd personally like to draw the most beautiful thing in the class but something tells me that wouldn't be the best idea so, instead, my decision rests with her earlier song.

_Down in the valley, the valley so low,_

_Hang your head over, hear the wind blow._

First, I draw a deep green valley, full of tall trees that look like they're blowing in the strong wind.

_Roses love sunshine, violets love dew,_

_Angels in Heaven know I love you._

Next to the trees, I draw pink roses, mixed in with the violets. Then, in the sky, I draw a layer of clouds and, on top of that, two human figures in white and gold clothes, with wings on their back.

_Build me a castle, forty feet high,_

_So I can see her as she rides by._

The final things I draw are a tall castle with high turrets and flags, also fluttering in the wind, and a girl with dark hair riding by on a horse. Then, for added effect, I draw a boy with blonde hair looking out at the girl from one on the highest windows.

"You know, those boy and girl look like you and me," laughs the soft voice that I've fallen in love with.

"Hey," I mutter, turning around to see Katniss, who I didn't even notice move. "You were great at singing earlier."

She shrugs. "Is it based on the song?"

"Yeah," I admit. "But, Katniss, I really did think your singing was beautiful."

"And I really think your drawing is beautiful," she promises, smiling as she returns to her seat.

_Angels in Heaven know I love you,_ if only you knew that too.

When the bell rings, signalling the end of the school day, everyone exits the school quickly. The hope of speaking to Katniss again is soon crushed as I lose sight of her when I get stuck in the corridor full of older kids. I don't worry about how much bigger they are than me until someone catches my head and I fight to get them off, scared of what they'll do to me.

"Stop struggling, muffin," hisses James. "I'm being nice and getting you out safely."

"Gerroff!" My shout comes out muffled and I manage to push his arms off once we arrive outside in the bright sunshine. I frown in his direction as he walks away with his friends, but turn a deep red colour when I catch Katniss' eye. She's looking in my direction and laughing as well as smiling, no doubt at my scowl and messed up hair. I smile as well at her as she walks away with her dad and I make my way over to mine.

"Had fun today?" he asks as his first words to me.

I nod. "Dad, that girl you pointed out to me this morning, well, I want to marry her when we're older."

He chuckles. "Give it some time, son. You don't want to rush things."

"But I love her!" I argue.

"I'm sure you do but these things take time," he reasons.

"Fine," I sigh, following my dad as we make our way back to the bakery in silence.

When we step in, I catch sight of my mum and run forward into her arms. She smiles as she kisses my head and then stands up. "How was your day, darling?"

"It was great," I say.

"I think he may have made a new friend," dad mutters.

Mum looks proud and laughs. "He did? And who was that then?"

Dad looks awkward and walks out of the room as if he never heard her.

Mum rolls her eyes and then repeats the question to me, to which I answer, "Her name is Katniss Everdeen and I think I love her."

Even before the final words have left my lips, mum's hand has smacked me around the side of the face as she screams, "How dare you do that, you stupid boy? You fell in love with Seam trash! What kind of son are you? And that girl especially, she doesn't know the definition of half the things you want to _love _her for."

Tears are already streaming down my face from the force of the blow from the mother who I thought loved me more than anything as I shout in reply, "She's not trash, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I'm going to marry her when I'm older, whether or not you like it!"

I receive two more slaps on the same spot for this comeback and, before she can do anything else, I've run away to my room. I slam the door behind me and push a cabinet to block it before I throw myself on my bed and rest my sore cheek on my pillow, crying myself to sleep with the only comforting words from the song swirling around my head with the definite knowledge that Katniss will marry me one day.

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**Author's Note: So, as I'm sure you've realised by now, this is my one shot about Peeta and Katniss' first day of school. I know that in the story, Katniss and Peeta have never spoken but in this they have, Katniss just decided to forget everything about the Boy with the Bread. Peeta's mum is obviously nice to him before in this until she finds out about his love, where she then discovered an instant dislike for him. I imagine James to be about two and a half years older than Peeta, and Matthew to be about seven years older.**

**Anyway, ****I will probably write other one shots about other major points in Peeta's life in the fanfiction. ****I hope you enjoyed it and please review to let me know! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_"After that, I watched you going home every day."_

As the bright rays of sunshine make their way into the room, my brothers decide, once again, that now is the time to wake up. I cover my head with my pillow like yesterday but, unlike yesterday, mum's not here to get me up. I touch three fingers to my swollen cheek and flinch, hissing in pain at the pressure on the wound.

Mum's reaction to what I told her is still confusing me. I don't understand quite why she changed from such a loving mother to one who abuses for no apparent reason. I don't think I did anything that could have caused her to change so suddenly but she must have thought I did. The only thing I did was talk about Katniss.

Katniss.

When I realise that I'm going to see her again today, I allow the first smile to pass by my lips since I came home yesterday. I quickly slide out of my bed, making it to avoid another beating, and then grab the towel off my bed. I make my way into the bathroom without making contact with anyone else and then, after learning my lesson yesterday, I lock the door before throwing my towel to the floor.

Once undressed, I climb into the shower and begin washing myself under the cold water. At the sound of the door handle being rattled, I shout, "I'm in here."

"Waste of water," replies mum in a mutter.

I sigh as what I assume to be a drop of water but could be a tear rolls down my cheek, the cold soothing the stinging of the slap. For a minute, I allow the water to pour on my cheek and soothe the pain until I turn it off, not wanting to waste anymore whatever than I have been just by being alive.

I step out and grab my towel, wrapping it around myself as I leave the bathroom. I start walking down the corridor and duck under James' arm, so he catches me and pulls me back, saying, "You can't get away from it that easily."

"Go away, James," I groan, pushing him away as I make my way into my room, shutting the door behind myself.

I walk over to the small rail in the corner of my room, which is where my few outfits are kept, and look at them all. I've got to wear something old now. After a few minutes of staring, hoping that something nice will jump out at me, I grab my shorts from yesterday and the shirt with the least holes in it that I have. I throw them on quickly and then find my old green jumper too. Noticing that there are holes in the elbows, I just roll it up so they can't be seen until I find a blue one and change it.

After running a metal comb through my still damp hair, I make my way downstairs. When I see that no one's yet in the front of the bakery, I make my way into the kitchen to find my dad and, unfortunately now, my mum.

"Good morning," I mumble, addressing it to neither in particular as I lean against the wall.

"Good morning, son," answers dad. No surprise when I don't get an answer from mum.

"May I have breakfast?" I ask, well sure that the answer will be a no.

"We never have breakfast," points out mum, directing her speech to dad as if he was one who asked the question.

"Why do you want breakfast?" questions dad.

"Because I didn't have any dinner last night," I admit.

"That's because you didn't come down for it, you ungrateful little boy," snaps mum. "We wasted some your portion because no one ate it!"

"I didn't come down for it because no one told me," I reason.

"And no one told you because you want to marry the ugliest Seam rat that there is!" she screams.

"Shut up!" I shout without thinking. "She is neither ugly nor a rat! You are wrong about Katniss. She is the most beautiful and amazing and perfect girl ever and you're just jealous because you're nothing like her."

It takes three harsh smacks with a rolling pin on the same cheek as last night for me to realise what I said but I can't regret it. She deserved. She smacks me a fourth time and as she raises it to hit me the fifth time, I snatch the rolling pin from her hand and throw it across the room. Then, before she has time to react, I sprint out of the room and out of the house.

I only slow down when I'm three streets away and I'd be lost if I ran any further. Slowly, I begin to make my way to school, much early than intended. As I walk along the street, I gingerly raise my hand to my cheek. When I draw it away, I find it covered in blood. I curse and start retracing my footsteps until I reach the apothecary, hoping that it'll be open. Luckily it is and I push open the door, making my way over to the counter.

The lady there looks up and gasps at the sight of me. "My dear, what happened to you?"

"Erm..." I mutter, not sure if I want to know the consequences of snitching on my mum. "I tripped. I caught the rest of my body and only got barely noticeable grazes but I fell on my face."

She looks unconvinced by my explanation but doesn't question any further. "Do you have any money?"

I nod. "But it's not much." I draw out the money that _was_ for my lunch: three silver coins. It's hardly enough to pay for an apple, a slice of bread and a piece of meat but maybe this woman will be lenient.

"I can't do much for that price, but I'll stop it bleeding then clean it up," she promises.

"Thank you," I whisper, unbelievably grateful.

She disappears behind the counter and then returns after a few minutes. She crouches down in front of me and rubs a cream on my cheek, which stings for the first couple of seconds, then soothes the pain. Soon, she grabs a wet piece of cloth and rubs it over my cheek to clean it.

"All done." She smiles as she throws the cloth into the bucket. She walks back around to the back of the counter and takes two of the coins for herself as she hands the third back to me. "I wouldn't want to take _all_ of your lunch money now."

I smile as well and then repeat, "Thank you," before leaving the shop. I know I still have a long time before school starts but I may as well go there now, as there's nowhere else I can go.

I've soon reached it and a teaching assistant has noted my presence entering the school with a nod. I know we have music again first so I make my way into the hall and take Katniss' original seat from yesterday. I lean my injured cheek against the wall and sigh, not wanting to think about how much my life has changed in less than a day.

"You've taken my seat," warns the sweet voice of my love from the row behind me, who I didn't even notice come in.

"Hmmm?" I mumble, pretending to not have heard her.

"You heard me alright, mister," she complains, climbing over the chairs and standing in front of me with her arms crossed in front of her.

I quickly glance over her appearance today: her hair in the same style with the same grey jumper, but with a blue dress that matches my jumper instead. "Oh, hello Katniss. I didn't see you arrive," I say.

"Move," she answers.

"Why?" I question.

"That's my seat," she replies.

"I don't think that this seat is dedicated to Katniss Everdeen," I argue, being cut off from carrying on further by her hand over her mouth.

"Move," she repeats.

"Or what?" My answer comes out muffled.

"I'll sit on you," she promises.

"I'd like to see you try," I challenge.

"Fine." True to her word, she drops herself onto my lap and lays her legs over the next seat as she stares straight into my blue eyes and I'm looking back at her Seam grey eyes.

"I'm still not moving," I point out after a few minutes where we just stared at each other.

"Neither am I. I suppose I'll just have to stay on your lap forever then," she taunts, smirking slightly.

Katniss, you have no idea how much I'd like you to stay with me forever. "I could make you move," I admit.

She raises an eyebrow. "How?"

As soon as the word has left her lips, I begin to stand up and she screams quietly, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as I fall back onto the chair, laughing. However, she isn't laughing as she forces my face to look at the door and she looks at something on the side of my face.

It takes me a few minutes to realise what she's looking at and, when I do, I try to move my head back around but she gently catches me and keeps me in the same place. "Katniss," I groan. "Let go."

"What happened?" she asks, slowly moving her hands away so I can face her.

I turn my head back to face her gradually and see a look of true concern on her features. "I tripped," I lie again.

"Peeta, my mum works as a healer, I know that that's not for a fall," she tells me. "If you don't want anyone else to know, just tell me."

"Seriously, it doesn't matter," I complain.

"Tell me, Peeta Mellark, or I will make you," she argues.

"We have no intimacy in this classroom!" the voice of Miss Beale calls, her voice ringing through the room.

"Please, Peeta," Katniss pleads, her eyes staring deep into mine.

Her beautiful eyes and powerful persuasion finally convinces me to tell her until Miss Beale shouts, "Mr Mellark, let go of that poor girl. I have told you already that we do not allow relationships in here." But before I have the chance to let go of my hold around Katniss' small waist, to which she wasn't complaining about, Miss Beale has already appeared behind us and pulled us apart. "Sit back at the front, Miss Everdeen, and you can stay there, Mr Mellark."

Annoyed and desperate to argue but knowing I can't, I just stare at Katniss as she makes her way back to the front of the class. She sits heavily into the seat and crosses her arms over her chest as she pulls her legs onto the chair, glaring at everyone as they walk in. How I'd love to be one of those people she is glaring at, she has an amazing scowl.

As the lesson begins once everyone is seated, I instantly lose interest in the lesson, finding the back of the chair in front of me incredibly interesting because I've forced myself to look away from Katniss for a while. It is rather lucky that concentration is not a necessary component in music because, believe me, I have none today.

When the hour is finally up and we make our way to the proper classroom, I find my seat without even looking. I sit down quickly and then focus my gaze outside where much more exciting things are happening as Panem's history will hardly catch my attention when I'm older, even less so now.

However, I am soon snapped out of my thoughts when Miss Beale asks me a simple question, probably to catch me out for day dreaming. "Who was the winner of the last Quarter Quell and what was the twist?"

To her annoyance probably, I easily answer, "Haymitch Abernathy from this District, and there were twice as many tributes," correctly. It must be the simplest question she could ask at the moment now though, as he only won thirteen years ago and District Twelve never gets Victors. He also already known for his alcohol addiction.

She glares at me then asks what she must consider a harder one. "Why are there the Games in the first place?"

I roll my eyes as I know that everyone in the class _should_ know this. "When the planet was too full, there were wars which split the countries. Power was finally gained here and a president took power, renaming here Panem. He split Panem further into thirteen Districts, the thirteenth being destroyed, and forced them to compete in the Hunger Games."

She shakes her head and frowns. "How do you know the answers to questions past your age's knowledge?"

"I'm not stupid," I reply, knowing as soon as the words leave my mouth that was the wrong thing to say. However, no one says anything until I hear a muffled laugh and I glance up to see Katniss covering her face with her arms. I smile and add, "I mean, I know all about numbers and letters from the bakery. And I know history because my brothers have already studied it."

Miss Beale sighs and, before she has the chance to speak again, the bell for our twenty minute lunch break has sounded and we all quickly leave the room. I follow everyone out, unsure why as I can't buy anything with the money I have left over from this morning.

I sit down quickly in a seat by a window and look out of it until I hear Katniss say, "I need to talk to you."

I look up and smile as she sits down opposite me. Once she's down, I glance out of the window again so that my cheek is hidden from her again and begin twiddling my thumbs as I don't say anything.

"You had lunch yesterday, where is it?" she asks suddenly, catching my hands and stopping them from moving.

"I bought it yesterday and I don't have enough money today," I explain.

"I don't have much money for lunch either, do you want to put our money together to buy something?" she suggests.

I shake my head, muttering, "I wouldn't want you to waste your money on me-"

"No, it would be a waste if I didn't buy something with you because that would mean that I had bought nothing with my money," she interrupts with a frown on her face. "So hand yours over."

I sigh, sliding my hand into a pocket in my shorts and removing the silver coin that I have left over. She reaches her hand to mine, letting it linger in place for a few seconds after she picks up the coin, before she walks away to the food stand. I watch her leave and rest my bad cheek on my hand so that it's covered in case someone else tries to see it.

After a few minutes, she returns and places a sugar coated biscuit on the table. As she sits down and smiles at me, she breaks it in half and questions, "Is this okay?"

I take the half she doesn't offer me, the smaller half, and return her smile before replying, "I can bring you one from the bakery tomorrow, if you'd prefer."

She laughs as she takes a bite into the crumbling biscuit, letting another smile pass over her lips because of the taste. I take a bite too as she bargains, "You only can if they're somewhat as good as this."

"They're better," I boast, taking another bite.

"How can they be?" she playfully gasps, speaking between mouthfuls. "This is the best biscuit I've ever eaten."

"I guess you haven't eaten many biscuits," I joke.

"You're right," she agrees, her playful tone gone.

I sigh and offer what's left of mine out to her. "Do you want to finish my bit then? I'm not really hungry and I get some food at home." Both bits are a lie but I can't see her go without food, I'll never be able to.

She shakes her head, pushing my hand back towards me. "You eat it."

I go to argue again but the bell rings, calling us back to lessons. She quickly walks away, finishing her biscuit as she walks and I have to do the same, my appetite disappearing now that I know she doesn't have enough food. I slip back into the classroom with all the other students, glancing over to see Katniss already seated and looking away from me. I sigh again as I find my seat and fall into it.

Once everyone, including Miss Beale, has re-entered the room, we are set our task for the final lesson, which is art once again. We are told to draw a representation of our parents' work, or something that relates to what they do. Finding this assignment easy, I have soon drawn the basic outline of three loaves of bread in a basket, in front of the sign for our bakery.

Then when I've completed my picture to a more complex level with colours and detail, I glance up at the clock and notice that we only have five minutes of the lessons left. I sigh in relief, not because I fancy going home anymore but because I can finally leave here, and then smile when we're dismissed slightly early from class so we can _escape_ before everyone else leaves school too.

I walk out of the classroom quickly, after grabbing my bag, and follow my classmates away. When I step out into the courtyard, I notice Katniss looking around as if she's expecting someone so I walk to her side and ask, "Looking for someone?"

"Well, my dad was _meant_ to be meeting me and he _should_ have got here before the school day finished," she informs me.

"We're out early so he may here soon, there's no point worrying," I reassure her.

"Hmmm," she mutters, her grey eyes staring off into the distance.

"I can wait with you if you want?" I suggest.

"What about your dad?" she answers. "What if he's waiting for _you_."

"Don't worry, he's too busy at work today so I said I'd walk home myself," covering up by lying, knowing the real reason he won't be coming will be mum.

"Thanks then," she whispers, smiling.

I nod but don't say anything as we move off to the side so that we have a clear view if her dad were to arrive, but not so that we're in the way of everyone else who is coming out of school now.

After a few minutes, by which time no one has arrived, I glance to my side and see the look of true concern on Katniss' face. "Hey, don't worry," I say. "He'll be fine. I'm sure that there's a perfectly normal reason why he's not here."

She looks unconvinced. "But the mines are really dangerous. What if he's been hurt or-"

"Katniss," I cut off. "He. Is. Fine. _I'll_ walk you home, if you want."

She laughs softly. "Why would you want to do that when you could go home yourself?"

I shrug. "Maybe your house is better than mine-"

"I highly doubt it," she scoffs. "I've been with my dad to the bakery and it looks really nice."

"Maybe I want to meet your parents then," I decide.

She laughs again. "Trying to get to know them for plans of the future?"

I laugh too, but don't say anything because she's hit the nail precisely on the head.

"But, yes please, will you walk me home?" she seems to plead.

"Of course," I agree without any persuading. "Would you like me to take you bag, ma'am?"

"If you so insist," she jokes, handing me her bag.

"Fine." I snatch her bag out of her hand and throw it over my shoulder with my own.

At first, she looks slightly shocked by my action until she sees the smile on my face and smiles as well, beginning to walk forward with a spring in her step. I follow her as she twirls around everything, gradually tightening the circle she begins around me.

"Katniss, stop!" I complain when she begins to make me feel dizzy.

As soon as the last word of my complaint has sounded, she suddenly stops in front of me, causing me to crash into her. _She_ doesn't complain though as she catches my chin, staring deep into my eyes as she whispers, "I need to tell you something." I nod slowly, as her hand creeps to my cheek and I pull away at the sting from her touch, where she says, "I'm not giving up with earlier. You're going to tell me what happened to you."

I sigh and look away, walking in the direction of the Seam, hoping I'll be able to tell which her house is when I get there.

"Peeta!" she calls after me, running to catch up. She tries to walk in front of me again and catch my gaze, but I don't let her. "Tell me." I shake my head. "If you don't tell me, I'll tell Miss Beale that you've been in a fight."

"She wouldn't care and neither should you!" I finally snap. I know I should take my anger out on her but I can't really help it.

I look at her and she looks a little hurt but shakes it away when she sees the expression on my face. "I really do care, Peeta."

I sigh. "Don't hold anything against anyone," I begin.

She nods. "I wasn't planning on doing so."

"Then don't think anything of it if I tell you that it was my mum who hit me," I tell her quickly.

She looks shocked in the second that I glance at her, before I've left her behind as I carry on walking. She eventually catches up and reminds me, "I said I wouldn't judge so I'll just ask _why_ she would hit you."

"That definitely doesn't matter," I probably answer too quickly. "Now, where to your house?"

"I'm not telling you until you tell me why your mum hit you," she bargains.

"You won't like the reason," I begin.

"Well, I already don't like the action," she points out.

"Believe me, you'll hate it even further," I sigh.

She rolls her eyes. "I doubt-"

"You," I mumble.

"Me?" she repeats.

"Mum doesn't like you," I explain. "So where's your house?"

"That's not important," she mutters. "Why doesn't she like me?"

I stop walking and drop our bags onto the floor by our feet. "I don't know, I haven't had the chance to talk to her in a civilised manner since I've discovered her hate."

This is her turn to sigh as she picks up her bag and gently kisses my sore cheek. "I probably shouldn't keep you away from home then."

"No," I disagree sharply. "I promised to walk you home and I intend to keep that promise."

She shakes her head and doesn't say anything as I pick up my bag and follow her home. The next time she speaks or even looks at me is when she turns to face me so that she can say, "This is my home, you can go now."

"I want to check that someone's at home for you, Katniss," I decide, following her inside as she pushes open the creaking door. As I step into the dark building, I have to rely on Katniss' small figure to guide me up the stairs to the lighted room and the top of the house.

When we step into that room, I look around, not taking long to see the small kitchen and the two beds, next to a cot, in which a baby girl with blonde hair lays. In the bed next to the cot is the man who I saw yesterday and know is Katniss' dad, then beside him is a frail blonde woman, who I guess must be Katniss' mum.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," I whisper, breaking the silent mood as I realise that I am probably now _even_ _later_ than _too late_.

Katniss nods and I walk away, heading down the stairs as I hear her throw her bag onto the second bed and walk over to cot, picking up her sleeping sister and saying softly, "Did you miss me, Prim?"

I hear a kind laugh that I assume comes from her father. "I'm sorry that I was not there to pick you up this afternoon, but it looked as if that young man was already there to do my job for me."

I pause, my hand hovering over the door handle as I wait for Katniss' reply, which comes after a few minutes. "Yes, well, I don't plan to talk to him again. Because I'm not sure if you noticed but he was all beaten up on one side of his face and it was technically my fault it happened."

I shake my head and silently shut the door behind myself, cursing how Katniss analysed the problem. That was definitely not how I intended her to see it. Well, originally, I didn't intend for her to see it at all. But when she did, that wasn't how I planned for it to go.

Today has not been a very successful day, and I realise that it's not anywhere near finished as I arrive at home.

Remembering what happened in my last two meetings with mum, I quietly attempt to slip upstairs without anyone noticing. I reach the top step without alerting anyone of my presence and I begin to relax as I go to place my foot down for the final step until I hear James shout, "Peeta's home."

I know that I am in so much trouble, so I throw my bag into my room and then stumble back down the stairs to the bakery, being met at the bottom by a red-faced, obviously fuming mum. She grabs me by the ear and pulls me to the back of the building and out of the public's view, but not away from James' prying eyes as he follows us.

I pull away from her tight grip and find out that's the wrong thing to do when I get a slap across the cheek at the same time as she screams, "And where were you?"

I don't answer straight away but there's no need for me to do so as James quickly snitches, "The same Seam girl that he was staring at yesterday."

"That brat!" shouts mum with another slap. "You know I told you to never go near her-"

"Oh, he went near her," James interrupts. "He walked her to her house just now, and he sat with her at lunch and shared his food, _and_ she was sitting on his lap before school even started today."

With each accusation, I have received a beating with her hand first until she moves onto the rolling pin again, which makes my still sore cheek bleed, doing the same to the other when gets unsatisfied by the first. However, she does not stop when James has finished talking and I feel I am about to lose consciousness, so I cry, "Stop! Mum, stop it!" I cover my face with my arms and the blows just continue to rain down there, making them lose all feeling.

"You deserve it! It's your own fault for going against what I told you and going near that _thing_ again! Why would you even want to, is what I want to know? A Seam kid: ugly, poor, ungrateful."

"Everything you are, but you're even worse!" This comment makes her kick me and beat me harder than she has been but I still try to get away as I feel the tears flooding down my face. However, as I stand up, my legs just collapse underneath me and I fall back into the corner so she finally leaves me, realising that there's nothing else she can do to hurt me.

She slams the rolling pin back down on the table as she walks away to finish whatever she started before I arrived. James just laughs as he leaves the back room, going back to his job at the counter. I'm just left in the corner, sobbing, bleeding, with nothing I can do about it.

* * *

**I hope this is okay as I only briefly checked it through, but I wrote it so I thought I may as well upload it. Anyway, I hope you like this one too (I apologise for Katniss being a bit OOC but I don't imagine her talking to Peeta again...) and ****_pleeeeeeease _****review to let me know what you think! Thank you for the last review :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three-**

_I run hand through my messy hair as I groan, sitting up to look around the bright room. Once my eyes have adjusted to the light, I catch sight of Katniss sitting on the edge of my bed and holding a baby in her arms. She's paying complete attention to the baby she's cradling as I study _her.

_She's grown older and even more beautiful since the last time I remember seeing her. Her hair's grown longer and is now tied in a singular braid around the back of her head, her rose pink lips grown fuller and standing out more from her olive skin tone. She's taller as well, just like a grown woman. _

_"Good morning, Peeta," she says softly, her melodic tone the same. _

_"Good morning, Kat," I reply, frowning slightly at the sound of my deep voice. _

_She laughs when she sees the frown of my face and moves back to lean on the pillow with me. I automatically wrap an arm around her shoulders and place a gentle kiss on her head as she lays her cheek against my chest. _

_We stay like that for a few moments until I see her eyes flicker shut and her grip around the baby loosening. I reach my hand down for the bundle and Katniss sighs, muttering, "Don't worry, Peeta, I'm okay."_

_"No, you're not," I argue. _

_"Fine." She rolls over and places the baby where her head was. Then she grabs my arms and guides them around so that I'm holding the baby in the correct way. "Now take Prim out and get her some breakfast. A cookie or something, you know she'll like it."_

_I laugh and go to stroke her flushed cheek until she pushes my hand back around the girl. "Okay, okay, I'm going." I place a briefly place my lips against her forehead as she lays back onto the mattress. _

_She smiles up at me. "Thank you, Pete," she whispers. "I love you."_

_The words that leave her lips make my heart skip a beat as a huge, soppy grin covers my face and I lean back to her face, wanting her to prove it to me. _

_She laughs and pushes me back, reminding me, "Prim."_

_I sigh and stand up. "Later."_

_She rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she pulls the covers over herself and curls into a ball as she instantly falls asleep. My smile grows softer as I watch her side rising and falling, as I hear a gentle purr emanating from her lips. _

_After a moment or so I step away from Katniss, walking into the kitchen with the baby girl closely hugged to my chest. "Now then, Prim, how about a cookie?" I suggest as I sit her down on her little chair, before I turn away to search in the cupboards for the biscuit. _

_When I turn back around, I see what Prim looks like. I place the cookie in front of her as I sit on a chair and pull it up so I can see her more clearly. She has pale blonde hair and sky blue eyes, with soft pink cheeks; she looks so like me it is unreal. "You like it, angel?" I ask. _

_She nods. "Thank you." She's got the same sweet voice as Katniss though. _

_As she finishes eating the biscuit with an orange flower atop it, I rest my face on my hand as I lean my elbow on the table, watching her progress. She eats the sugary biscuit in exactly the same way as Katniss did on our second day of school. _

_"Thank you," she repeats, when the last crumb has been cleared from her plate. _

_I smile, lifting her up again in the way that Katniss taught me and taking her over to the sofa, where I sit us both down. She slides onto my lap and giggles as I begin playing with her, making my smile grow wider until I hear a scream from next door. My smile instantly drops as I put Prim onto the cushioned seat, instructing, "Stay there," as I walk away. _

_Cautiously, I walk back to the bedrooms and push the door open. I glance around quickly, my eyes almost instantly falling onto Katniss. I run to her side and, as I wrap my arms around her from behind her, she flinches and tries to move away until she realises it's me. _

_"Peeta!" she cries, turning around in my arms and burying her face against my chest. _

_I rub her back slowly, whispering comforting words into her ear. Slowly, she leans back and I catch sight of the blood streaming down her cheek that I didn't see before. "Katniss! What happened?"_

_She shakes her head as she takes my hand into hers, which also has a wound across the back of it, and presses my palm against her cheek. She cringes at the pain but tries to smile. _

_"Who did this?" I try to ask gently, looking deep into her grey eyes. _

_"No," she mutters, her voice cracking as her eyes travel behind me. _

_I know what's going to happen even before it has so I throw myself down, covering Katniss' entire body with my own as the beatings rain down on my back. "Don't listen, Kat, she's lying," I promise as quietly as I can. _

_"Peeta Mellark!" screams my mum. "How dare you go off with the Seam rat that I forbade you to go with all those years ago? How dare you get her pregnant? I bet it was all to shame me!"_

_"Katniss, don't listen." I shut my eyes to stop the tears from falling as I try and talk to her, reaching my hand down for hers. "I love you. I love Prim. Everything she saying is to make us hurt more."_

_"You don't even love her!" my mum continues. _

_"I do, Katniss," I complain. "You know I do. Don't listen to her-"_

_My mum must have heard something I said because she grabs me by the hair on top of my head and pulls me away from Katniss, slamming me against the wall with such force that it's only when I see her moving back towards my cowering love that what she's doing clicks in my mind. Unsteadily, I stand and charge at my mum, my impact not shaking her at all. _

_"You stupid boy!" she shouts, bringing down her weapon over my head. _

_I curse under my breath at the pain inflicted but try not to collapse as I swing my fist into the side of her face. Her face becomes raged filled but I push her to the floor, my own anger taking over. "You dare touch my family again and I will make sure that you are never survive as well off as this. You're not my mother." I spit the last word out like it's acid on my tongue, and then turn away. _

_"Peeta," Katniss calls, opening her arms for me to fall into them. "You're my knight in a baker's apron," she adds when I sit next to her so she can wrap her arms around me. _

_I shake my head. "I'm sorry, Katniss, you shouldn't have to go through that," I apologise. "She just could never accept that I love you. Someone who was much more of everything than she was."_

_She smiles gingerly. "I love you too." She leans forward on her words and presses her lips to mine, my eyes fluttering shut her touch. _

I wake up and the first thing I hear is shouting downstairs. I roll over and cover my head with my pillow, unsuccessfully attempting to block on my mum's tidal wave of insults which were made for her failure of a son: me, but shouted at my dad.

I sigh and eventually sit up, looking out of the small window behind me. The sun is halfway towards the pinnacle of its journey, suggesting that it's nearing eight o'clock. The sky's already a clear blue, very few clouds, which is unusual for this time of the year. I can tell that today would be the perfect day to go out with the friends that I haven't yet got. Plus, I'll be starting work today.

As I stand up and walk to the corner of my room, I look back at my bed and groan. There is blood around where my arms were whilst I was asleep, so I must have been tightly gripping them throughout the worst parts of my nightmare. Shaking my head, I quickly make my way into the bathroom and grab the cloth out of the cold water bucket to wash the worst of the blood of my arms. When I return to my room, I throw on a clean shirt and a pair of trousers, just so I make myself look kind of presentable. Then I run my hand through my hair in an attempt to smooth it, before I shove my hands in my pockets, quickly making my way downstairs.

I take a deep breath as I open the door to the kitchen, walking in and instantly being answered by, "You lazy excuse for a son."

"Sorry," I mutter, ducking away from my mum as my dad pulls her back for the first time. "I couldn't get to sleep last night so I must have overslept this morning."

"I don't think it's morning anymore, boy!" mum shouts.

I bite my lip to stop myself from pointing out that it's only just eight. I know her argument will be that she's already been up for over three hours.

"Know though that we wasted another load of food on you last night," she continues. "You're too selfish to realise that we are just throwing away money when you don't eat."

Again, I stop myself from answering because we eat leftovers anyway and me not eating is saving money. I just look down at the floor and mutter another apology.

She grumbles another offensive insult towards me under her breath as she grabs an apron and throws it in my chest. "Go to the front of the shop. It's about to open now and you can serve. There's a list of prices on the side, next to the till. James will come out and watch you, to make sure you don't do anything _stupid_." Her emphasis on "stupid" makes me want to curl up into a ball away from her, and hide from everything and everyone who wants to hurt me.

"Okay," I agree, walking back out and to behind the counter, where I pull out a stool so I look taller.

I study the price list as James walks out of the kitchen behind me, saying, "I'm not going to do any work. You can do it. I'm going to sit on the stairs for an hour at the most and pretend to watch you. I'll go out with my _friends_ after that."

I sigh and nod my head. "I didn't expect anything else," I mutter under my breath, quiet enough so he can't hear me as he climbs up the stairs and finds a comfortable place to sit.

Once I hear James settle down behind me with a magazine or something in his hands, I sit in silence for someone to come in, playing with my apron tie around my waist as I wait. I shouldn't be nervous really because I have everything laid out in front of me; all I need to do is take the money and give them the change. It's not the difficult. And I _supposedly _have James there to support me, in case anything goes wrong.

As soon as I hear the bell above the door ring, announcing the entrance of a customer, I snap to my feet atop the stool and have it fall beneath my sudden movement, with me on top. I land on the ground with a small "oof," laying stunned on the floor for a few moments because I had the breath knocked out of me. Eventually, I push myself back to my feet as I remember what I was meant to be doing.

"Sorry," I mumble, my cheeks blushing a little. I stand on my tiptoes so I can see over the top, but not on the stool again after my disastrous last attempt. "It's my first day and I suppose I must be a little too eager."

I hear a snigger from behind me with the words, "Or it's just you're awful at this job," added by my brother. I turn around to glare at him but he just laughs again, standing up and throwing the magazine on the stairs as he jumps down to the shop and then quickly leaves.

"Don't worry," the customer reassures me.

I turn back around from looking at the stairs to look at the man who owns the deep voice. He is obviously a coal miner from the Seam, that I can just tell from his clothes: dark, grubby overalls; old, worn-down boots; a grey, crumpled t-shirt; and a greasy jacket. I look up to his face now and the see the usual dark hair and grey eyes of a Seam person, the lines of his face filled with coal dust, however his eyes are kind and warm, not distant and cold like most people from where he lives. Something about him is familiar, but I can't think what it is.

"Thanks," I groan, running my hand through my hair without thinking. "How can I help you then?"

"Well, I originally came here to ask your father for a trade," he begins. I nod and start to walk out to the kitchen until he calls, "But I'd like to speak to you first."

"Okay," I say, turning back on my heel to face him. It's still really annoying me that I can't place where I know him from yet.

"I'd like to thank you," he admits.

I raise an eyebrow. "But I haven't done anything."

"You may think that but I definitely think that you have," he disagrees.

"I don't understand what you're saying that you think I've done," I mutter. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I know who you are to have assisted you before."

"You may not know me personally but you've done something that's helped me for sure," he tells.

I frown. I dislike how he's talking in riddles and not telling me straight off why he needs to thank me for something.

He chuckles lightly, throwing his head back as he makes the sound. I recognise that movement too, for some reason. "You really don't know who I am, do you?"

I sigh, annoyed at how he's only just worked that out or at least decided to say. "No, I'm afraid that I don't think I know anyone from the Seam."

"Have you ever been to the Seam before?" he asks.

I cross my arms behind my back as I grip my shirt in my fisted hands. "Only last night for a couple of minutes. I didn't pay any attention to anything around me. I just dropped Katniss home and- Oh…" It hits me now why I recognise his look, the sound of his voice, his movements, and why he was thanking me.

He smiles as he stands in front of me. "Thank you for bringing my baby home yesterday," he assures me.

"I… Erm… Well, it was nothing really," I stammer, my hands' grip on my shirt instantly loosening as I pull down my sleeves to cover the bruises and cuts from yesterday. "I didn't want her to hurt herself getting home."

"Even so, whatever your motivation, I appreciate that you'd think of yourself over and above yourself," he replies.

"There was nothing about me to think of," I lie, my eyes drifting away from his face and onto a spot on the floor. I scuff my shoe along it as I continue, "I didn't need to be home at a specific time or anything."

He sighs, as if he knows that I'm not telling the truth. "You know, my wife's a healer if you want-"

"I know," I interrupt, biting my lip at my rudeness towards an older person. "Katniss said yesterday at lunch. She said she knew all about wounds. But it's okay, it's just a scrape from when I fell yesterday on the way to school. Anyway, she has more important things to do, like looking after your youngest daughter."

He smiles at the thought of his daughter. "Prim? Well, Katniss can look after her too."

"It's okay, sir, let Katniss be free of caring for her sister. You don't have to worry about it," I remind him.

He sighs again, knowing that I won't give in. "May I speak to your father now?" he asks, changing the subject.

I nod slowly, before I finally head into the kitchen where my parents are. "Dad, someone would like to speak with you," I call, unsure of where he is.

"What's it about?" he answers from the back of the kitchen, hidden behind a wall of pots and pans.

"I think it's for a trade," I guess.

"Well, I'm kind of busy right now, son, so ask him what we usually get," he suggests. "If he doesn't know and it's good meat, two medium loaves. If it's not as good, one medium."

"Okay!" I shout. I shut the door behind me as I walk back to Katniss' father. "He's busy now, but what do you usually trade for what you've got?"

At first, he just lifts his game bag from his shoulder and onto the counter, emptying three squirrels onto the side.

"How much?" I ask.

"Well, your father might trade maybe a small and a medium loaf for this," he begins. "Depending on-"

"One small and one medium it will be then," I decide. I slip back behind the counter and bend down, grabbing a small loaf and one slightly larger one as soon as I see them. I place them on the counter as I stand up and say, "That'll be three squirrels then."

He laughs as he hands them to me. "Thank you." He picks up the two loaves and replaces the squirrels in his hunting bag with them.

"Pleasure doing business with you, sir," I reply, offering out my hand for him to shake.

He does so with one hand, ruffling my already messy hair with the other. "Look after my little Katniss," he begs, a smile in his voice.

I blush a little as he walks away, luckily too soon for me to answer. Shaking my head in the hope that it will clear my cheeks of the flush, I pick up the squirrels and quickly make my way through to the kitchen, where I soon vacate the room after leaving them on the side.

As I take my seat again behind the counter, I hear a shrill voice shout, "Peeta Mellark!"

I cringe, calling back, "Yes."

She storms out of the kitchen into the shop, already in a bad mood, though I haven't yet done something awful. "What did you trade for those _squirrels_?" She spits the last word.

"A medium loaf and a small loaf," I admit quietly, keeping my eyes away from her face. This is why I don't see the slap coming, causing me to cry out in pain as her hand makes contact with my previously wounded cheek.

"Have you seen how much meat is on those?" she screams. "There is hardly any. That's barely enough to feed us for a day. A small loaf was the maximum you should have given." She storms back into the kitchen, luckily before she can beat me even further.

I frown as I feel a trickle of blood run down my neck, getting up and walking to the small sink in the corner. I get an old rag and run it under the cold water, mopping up the stream of blood before returning back to my seat as I press the rag to my cheek.

"Are you alright?" asks a worried voice as the door to the shop opens again.

I sigh. "I'm fine, sir," I lie, turning to face Katniss' father again. "It just obviously wasn't as healed as I initially thought."

He shakes his head, probably knowing how I'm like this. "I was walking home and thought I'd maybe get my daughters something," he explains, walking towards the counter once more.

"Yep," I mutter, watching. "Whatever you want."

He kneels down and studies the case of baked treats for a while, before standing back up. "The cookie with the orange flower on top, and the plain green one," he tells me.

I nod, jumping off my stool, resting my cheek against my shoulder so it's holding the rag in place, allowing me to use both hands. As I stand up and put them in a bag, the material drops and I groan, not bothering to pick it up though as I collect his money.

I put it in the till and wait for him to leave again, until I look up and catch his eye. "I'm taking you to see my wife, Peeta," he instructs.

"No," I beg more than tell.

"You can't leave it like this," he argues.

I shake my head. "I can't go anywhere."

"But you can't stay here," he reasons. "Go and tell your parents that you need to run an errand."

I bite my lip, knowing that it's probably not a good but I don't have another choice. "Okay," I finally agree. I quickly pop into the back and find Matthew, without running into mum. "Will you look after the shop?" I ask in a rush.

He raises an eyebrow, his eyes also glancing to the cut on my cheek. "Why?"

I know he'll find out eventually so I admit, "I'm going to have this," I motion at my cheek, "and these," I motion to my arms, "checked out. But if mum asks, I'm running an errand." Before he has the chance to answer, I have made it back to Katniss' father's side. He looks at me and I just say, "Run," terrified of what will happen to me.

Surely confused but not asking, he moves out of the shop, me following at a jog. As soon as we hit the street, we break into a run until we reach the Everdeen's house in the Seam. I stop outside it, leaning over to catch my breath for running fast to keep up with Katniss' father. He leans against the wall, catching his breath too as we watches me.

Finally, my breathing back to normal, I stand up and look at the man in front of me. "I'm sorry," I begin. "I just didn't want to see what mum would do when she found out that I had left the shop."

"Surely your brother would be covering you," he reasons.

I shake my head. "Probably not."

He shakes his head too as he motions me forward to follow him into the house. Silently, I follow him through the door into the darkness that meets us as the door is shut behind us. As I realise where we are and who I'll soon meet, I bite my lip and run a hand through my hair. I bring my hand back down and it brushes against my cheek, causing me to catch my breath. I see Katniss' father look back towards me but he doesn't say anything as he makes his way up the stairs, me following him as he goes.

"I'm home," he calls as soon as his feet hit the landing.

I pause on the stairs behind him, blending into the shadows so I don't interrupt his reunion to his family.

Soon enough, I hear the soft pounding of delicate feet and an excited squeal of, "Daddy!" as his eldest daughter runs out to meet him, throwing herself into his arms. He catches her and spins her around to her laughter, as she buries her face against his neck. "Good morning," she mumbles, her mouth covered by his dirty jacket.

"Good morning, sweetie," replies her father, stroking her back as he stops spinning her around. He places her on the ground, with a kiss on the top of her dark hair, as he stands back up to greet his wife with a kiss on the lips. "How was she last night?" is the first thing he directs to her, gazing at their youngest in his wife's arms.

"Fine," the woman answers, smiling as she looks at her youngest daughter as well.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing here?" I hear someone ask.

I look away from the mother, father and youngest daughter to meet the grey eyes of the older sister. She's staring at me with a slight scowl on her pretty features, her hands resting on the waist of her orange dress.

I blush as I look back at her father, hoping he will provide his questioning daughter with the answer I can't give.

"I invited him, Katniss," he explains.

"Why?" Again, she aims it at me, her eyes no more forgiving than they were a second ago.

I take a further step up so my cheek is bathed in the dim light of the room, and her expression instantly softens. She drops both hands from her hips as she lifts one to the new wound, gently running her thumb along where it bleeds from. She looks me straight in the eye for a few moments, with her hand still on my cheek until she takes her hand away and walks towards her mother. She offers her arms out for her sister, who she takes into the other room as soon as she is placed into her hold.

I drag my eyes away from her as I turn to face her parents once more, saying to her mother, "I heard you're a healer."

She nods, holding her hand out for me. "Come on," she whispers. "Come into the kitchen where there's better light and I can see what I should do for you."

Slightly reluctantly, I take her offered hand and follow her, dropping her hand as I sit into the seat that she pulls out for me.

"Now then, what happened?" she asks gently, kneeling down in front of me as she turns my face to the side so she can see the cut.

"I tripped yesterday, and then I fell on it again today," I start to say.

"His mum hit him," shouts Katniss from the other side of the room.

I glare in her direction, annoyed at how calm she is in such a situation; she's just sitting on her bed, holding her little sister in her arms.

"It took a long time for him to tell me, but I know that's why," she carries on. She catches my eye as she then says, her cheeks turning a deep pink, "And I'm the reason why."

Her mother sighs, standing up and heading to the cupboard to get some ingredients out. For a few minutes, the whole house stays silent apart from the giggles that emanate from the other side of the room when the two sisters play after the youngest wakes. I watch with interest, knowing I was never like that with my brothers, so seeing a slightly less fortunate family enjoy what they have is beautiful.

After a few minutes, Katniss' mother returns to me, moving my face to where she wants it again. She gently applies the lotion to the cut on my cheek, it instantly soothing my cheek. "Anywhere else?" she asks.

"His arms," Katniss answers for me again.

I look back to her and her sister, smiling as I see her father presenting them with the biscuits he bought for them.

Katniss' mother rolls up the arms of my shirt, applying the lotion to them as well. "If you need any more help, you can always come back," she promises, causing me to look at her. "Katniss can always bring you here after school or something, if you need it."

"I don't think I should need to again, but thank you for the offer," I thank. "I really appreciate what you've done."

She smiles. "It's nothing. I've needed some work to do for a while. These two have been keeping me busy."

I laugh, reaching into the pockets in my trousers. I draw my hand back with a gold and a silver coin, and offer them to her. She shakes her head and begins to complain but I press them into her palm and plead, "Please take it. I can't pay you back otherwise."

Before she has the chance to argue again, I have jumped off the chair and walked down the stairs, only stopping when I hear footsteps following me as I reach the front door.

"Peeta?" calls Katniss, her gentle tread stopping just behind me.

I turn around, finding her closer to me than I anticipated. "Please don't say you've come down here to make me take the money back, because it won't work."

"No, I'm here to make sure you're not just giving me the money because you feel sorry for my family," she corrects, the seriousness obvious in her voice.

"I'm giving you money because your mother did me a favour," I tell her. "You saw it as well as I did."

She nods, looking away now. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" I ask, knowing what's coming.

"Your mum," she admits. "It's my fault she beats-"

"It's not your fault," I interrupt, my hand against her lips. "I chose to hang around with you for those first two days so I chose to take the beating for it."

"I'm still sorry," she mutters.

"Don't be," are my last words as I walk out the house, quickly shutting the door behind me.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, I believe the general decision for this is to continue it as a story, not a series of one-shots. As this is the case, I will say that I won't be continuing this until I have finished one of my other stories. Maybe in the time I am writing those, I'll have time to write some more of this but I won't post it so I've got more for when I do. **

**Next, I'm not promising that all the chapters will be as long as these first three, but they may be; the first two were long because I was expecting them to be one-shots, this is long because I was keeping with the first two. **

**Finally, as this will be a story, would you like Peeta and Katniss' to stay as it is in the books or do you want them to become friends before? I'm happy to do either but, like the last decision, I will do whatever most want.**

**_Anyway,_**** I will thank all of you who have reviewed this story so far/favourited it/put it on your story alerts/just read it; getting an email and seeing how many hits it's had always makes me smile. I wouldn't mind some more though ;)**

**Oh yeah, how many of you have seen the Catching Fire set photos? God, they've made me so excited! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four-**

"Mum and dad said that you have to pick up Evangeline today," shouts Matthew as I pick up my bag, aiming, before, to leave the house as soon as possible, to avoid "confrontations".

"Why?" I call back to upstairs from the doorway.

"You know better than me that she was ill for the first two days of school, and we both know Uncle Ash and Aunt Brooke begin working early," he answers.

"Fine." It doesn't actually bother me that I'm going to have to collect my cousin to take her to school with me because she is my best friend. It was simply curiosity that made me wonder why I had to.

"Keep away from the Seam rats, muffin!" shouts James from the kitchen, sticking his head out from behind the door to smirk at me.

"Shut up," I hiss, walking out before he can say anything else, or before mum can get to me.

It shouldn't take too long to walk to the house of one of my many sets of cousins, but I walk at a relaxed pace, so it takes a little longer than usual. I look around at all the shops as I go, watching as they all begin to start their work inside, setting up for what they hope to be a busy day, full of business and customers.

"You took your time, Peeta," a voice calls out of an upstairs window as I arrive in front of the District's flower shop.

I look up to see the cousin that's the same age as me hanging her head out, grinning at me. "We won't be late, Angel," I argue.

"Good. The door's unlocked." She disappears back into her room, shutting the window, before I have the chance to act.

When I do walk through the door, I step into the shop, instantly met by the overwhelming smells of many different types flowers. I smile at my aunt behind the till, before shuffling around to the house of the shop, beginning to make my way upstairs.

"Oi, we're going down, silly, not up," complains Angel as I bump into her, halfway up the stairs.

"Don't be so rude, Evangeline," her older sister scolds from by her bedroom, making Angel mimic her because she can't see her face. "Peeta was merely coming upstairs to make sure you were coming with him to school."

"I definitely am coming," decides Angel, grabbing my hand.

"She's been bouncing off the walls all morning, Pete," Rosabelle warns. "Try and keep a lid on her excitement at school."

"I'll try my best," I promise.

"Come _on_ now," the younger girl moans, headed down the stairs before me and dragging me with her.

"Are you not coming, Rose?" I manage to shout over my shoulder.

"She's coming later," answers Angel, before her sister has the chance. "With her boy_friend_."

"She's got a boyfriend?" I question, following my best friend as she leaves their family's shop and house.

"Well, she says they're just friends, but she'd never spoken about him before the weekend and they were _awfully_ close when he came around the other day. He's older than her, too," she adds after a second's thought.

We look at each other for a second, before breaking out into fits of laughter, somehow still managing to walk as we laugh. "I guess this means that you're feeling better," I say once we've recovered, talking about how easily she laughed.

"Yeah, it was just a couple of days' thing," she replies, jumping in front of me and spinning along the street.

As she twirls, her white dress with lilac flowers flies up around her, until she pushes it down with her arms. Her lilac shoes with little bows hardly make a sound as her feet then pound along the street that she runs up and down. When she runs, her long, blonde curly streams out behind her, only her flowery headband keeping it out of her eyes.

I reach the school yard just after her, where I'm met by a pink faced, bright blue eyed girl, a grin lighting up her face. "I'm really excited!" she admits, still bouncing on her toes.

"I can tell," I laugh, taking her hand again as we make our way across to the entrance of the school.

When we get in, other students have also begun to arrive, so it's beginning to become a little crowded. It's especially difficult to try and make our way through a packed corridor when we're just two five year olds against the whole of the rest of the older years. However, we just about manage to make our way to the office after a while, which I lead Angel into because she needs to register.

I wait outside for her, whilst she hands the lady behind a desk the letters she was given by her parents, explaining why she wasn't there for the first couple of days and all the other stuff she needs to explain, as well as the letters that I also had to bring in on my first day. The hallways are beginning to clear when she finally comes out, still smiling, before we make our way to our classroom.

Luckily, I saved a seat next to me on the first two days of school, so there's a spare seat for Angel to sit in when we arrive. We take our seats at the back of the classroom and she's still buzzing with excitement, wriggling in her seat as she waits for the day to start.

"You do realise that it's actually not that exciting," I whisper into her ear, smiling.

"I'm sure you thought it was on the first day," she argues.

"Yeah, I suppose my first day was rather exciting," I agree, finding my gaze wandering over to a particularly beautiful looking Seam girl our age.

"Who's that then?" Angel asks, nudging me.

"No one," I mutter, looking away but blushing none the less.

"Oh, give up, Pete," she moans, trying to look me in the eye. "I can tell that's a lie. There's no way that she's merely just someone you've only looked at once."

"All I know is she's called Katniss Everdeen and she's our age, but from the Seam," I tell her, not meeting my cousin's gaze.

"You liar, Peeta Mellark," she complains. "Those last two facts as are obvious, and you got her name from the register. You know more about her than you say you do, but you're just not saying because we're Townies and she's from the Seam."

"Evangeline! Don't say things like that," I scold, staring at her with a look of surprise on my face.

"It's true," she reasons. "Your mum wouldn't like it, so you're not telling me anything else, in case I relay it back to her."

I don't say anything, resting my head in my hands instead.

However, as the lesson begins and I raise my head up to look at the board, Angel continues to mutter Katniss' surname under her breath, saying something about recognising the name. Over half way through the second lesson, she punches my arm and says quietly, "Uncle wanted to marry a girl from Town, who wasn't your mum. The girl he wanted to marry actually decided to marry a coal miner with the surname Everdeen."

"So what if he did?" I challenge, keeping my voice low and my gaze focussed forward.

"You've fallen in love with his daughter," she decides, grinning triumphantly.

"I have not!" I disagree, frowning slightly.

"Your mum will kill you, Pete," she warns. "Don't let her know."

"If I got the choice, she would never have found out," I admit. "I would have kept it quiet if I had realised how badly she would have reacted."

As soon as I've finished speaking, I feel her hand brush against my swollen cheek, causing me to flinch slightly. "You need it looked at," she complains when I turn around to face her.

"I know, Angel, and I already have," I say. "I've just got to be careful that she's going to make it no worse."

"There must be a healer than can treat it properly-" She's interrupted from further speaking when the bell to signify break goes, calling us all out of our seats.

We all leave our bags in the classroom, just taking what we need into the lunch hall or outside, where many people are headed because of the good weather. Angel and I go towards the lunch hall, buying some lunch of our own, before looking for some empty seats at a table inside, eventually deciding to eat outside.

"Now, why haven't you gone to a proper healer?" she asks, continuing our classroom conversation as she eats her lunch.

"I have," I argue. "I was told that I could go back to her whenever I need to," I add, finishing my lunch at the same time as my eyes focus on the small girl beneath the tree in the courtyard.

The girl beside me sighs, finishing her lunch, too, and looking in the same direction as I am. "Why don't you sit with her, Pete?"

"I don't want her to get hurt," I whisper. "I sat with her for the first two days and it's obvious what happened to _me._ Any longer and something could happen to her. I don't want to risk it, Angel. Plus, it's not her fault for this, yet she's already blaming herself. The further I distance myself, the less and less she will have to base that judgement upon. Mum won't be able to base it on much, either."

"It still can't just go on like this," she complains. "She needs friends and so do you, other than me. And don't complain about that- I'm your cousin, so you really need to be able to at least talk to me. If you're both waiting for the other to be your friend, neither of you will get anywhere."

"I highly doubt that she's waiting to be my friend," I argue. "The last time I saw her, I think she hated me for being from the Town. She hates that I've got money, so she thinks that I simply pity her family, because they're from the Seam."

Angel sighs again, getting to her feet at the same time as I do, when we see the rest of the school heading back into the building. We follow the crowd, only slowing down when we come to the entrance of the building, to avoid being crushed by the mass of people. "Whatever the case, Pete, you need to talk to other people more."

"Who's saying I can't do that?" I moan.

"I am, and you know it," she decides. "You're choosing not to, at least. If you want to, I can help you find some friends. I need some of my own. You're okay for a while, but you're no more than okay."

I laugh, and she does, too, eventually. "Thanks, Angel."

"It is true, though," she says. "I can't stay with someone as uncool as you forever."

When I punch her arm in complaint, she begins laughing again, and we're still laughing when we return to class, until we have to become quieter when we take our seats. Everyone, including us, removes their books from their bags, before everyone looks up at the board, Angel and I finally resorting to covering our mouths with our hands to stifle our laughter at least a little bit more.

Our laughter stops after time, so, already bored of the lesson, I look towards the window, towards the outside world. On the way there, however, my gaze meets Katniss' and I smile at her, wondering if she was staring at us because of the laughter or glaring at me for giving her mother money when she helped me at the weekend. Either way, she sighs and looks away, without smiling back.

I turn back to the board and rest my better cheek on my hand, watching as the teacher writes information for whatever we're being taught.

"You okay, Pete?" asks Angel, cutting through my thoughts.

"Yeah," I mutter, not really looking at her because, then, for sure, she will know that I'm lying. I'm sure that she saw the little exchange between Katniss and I: the initial glance, my smile, then her glare as she turned away. Really, I only want to know why she's suddenly turned hostile towards me. I didn't realise that I did anything wrong and, if I did, I didn't mean it.

Angel falls silent again, returning her attention to the teacher, so that she can continue to copy out the notes from the board. However, my mind is still elsewhere, not stuck in a classroom with a load of other kids that I do not know and never plan to know, but alone with Katniss, in somewhere special to her, like the woods.

The end of the lesson arrives much later than I would have liked, so I quickly throw all of my things into my bag and leave the classroom as soon as I possibly can, once the final bell has sounded. I'm halfway down the corridor when I realise that I've left without my cousin, but I decide that I will have to wait for outside now. Too, I can see the small and frayed bag of one of my fellow classmates in front of me and, _really_, I'd like the chance to speak to her alone.

When I appear in the courtyard, my eyes still following the girl, I blink a few times, helping my eyes adjust to sudden light change. As soon as I can see properly, I spot Katniss charging across from the main doors to her father, her warm smile met by an equally happy grin and a tight embrace. She buries her face in his shoulder and I begin to think that now may not be the best time to talk to her.

As if to support my thoughts, Katniss' father sets his daughter on the ground as he kneels in front of her, gently holding her shoulders. He says something quietly to her, briefly looking over her shoulder to me, but she just shakes her head, the smile slowly leaving her face, too. I sigh as she glances back, meeting my gaze, before the father and daughter begin their journey home.

"Hey, mister, you're meant to be looking after me today," complains Angel, walking to my side from behind me and nudging me slightly. "Did you forget me, or something?" she suggests, yawning.

I shake my head now. "Sorry," I mumble, "I just needed to get out of there quickly."

"You left me to fight through it all on my own," she moans. "It's my first day here. I needed someone at least a little experienced in escaping the mass in the corridors."

"I know, I'm horrible," I agree without really thinking, my eyes still following the father and daughter as my cousin and I begin our own journey home.

Angel must follow where my eyes are directed because she slips her arm through mine and asks quietly, "Why her, then, if not for the fact that your dad could have married her mum?"

I look down, studying the dust coated street that we walk along, taking my time to answer. "She sang in our first lesson on the first day. She was the only one who knew the Valley Song, so she was asked to sing for us. It was incredible, Angel, like nothing I'd ever heard before. The birds even stopped to listen. It was beautiful, really. I don't think I'll ever hear anything so enchanting again."

She sighs and softly squeezes my arm. "Did you tell her what you thought about her singing?"

"Yes, and she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was almost my friend the next day," I explain.

"And why do you think that she hates you today, then?" she continues.

I shrug. "Her dad made me go with him to their house on Saturday because my cheek was bleeding again and my arms weren't great. Katniss' mum is a healer, so she put something on them to make them a bit better. Of course, I gave them money as a thank you. As well, she did me a favour, worked for it and used her things, so I needed to pay for it. Katniss, like I said, thought I just pitied them."

"And you weren't?" she pushes.

"Of course I wasn't, Angel!" I almost shout. "I don't care that she was from the Seam, so had less money than me. No matter who it was that would have done that favour for me, I would have still paid them. I paid them no more than they were due- in fact, I think it was probably less."

My cousin sighs. "Then, don't blame yourself, Pete. It's obviously not your fault. Perhaps she has her own reason for distancing herself from you."

I look down. In all honesty, the reason is probably my mum. She's heard all about her now and has seen all of my beatings. She still thinks she's the reason why I've got them. She must know- because she's not stupid and it's pretty obvious- that my mum hates her. Surely, any chance to beat her, she would take. I'd like to keep Katniss away from her, too.

It takes a gentle tug on my arm for me to brought out of my thinking, when I look up to see Angel staring at me, a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?" she asks, having stopped our walk outside of her house. "You kind of zoned out for a bit, but I didn't want to interrupt you, in case it was important. Sorry that I had to."

I laugh slightly and try to force a smile onto my lips. "I'm fine- don't worry about me, Angel."

She rolls her eyes. "You're crazy, you know?" She pauses, also smiling now, until she says, "Do you want to come into my house to do the homework we got today together? It could be a lot easier, if we did."

I look around for a moment, glancing back in the direction of my house. "Actually, could we do it at mine? That way, we could tell both of our parents that we're home, so we're not late..." I trail off at the end but, from the look on my cousin's face, she understands.

"Good idea." She tries to smile again, but I can see it's forced. "I'll just tell my parents."

I wait outside whilst she goes to tell her parents where she'll be, rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands whilst I wait. I don't have any work at the Bakery that I need to do, but I probably need to give a decent reason as to why I won't be there. If I were to do my homework at Angel's, my parents wouldn't know, so they could think that I was lying.

As soon as Angel bounces back out of her house, we head towards mine in silence, the first words I speak when we arrive into the shop and I announce that I'm going to tell my parents what I'm doing, my cousin agreeing to come with me. We walk into the actual bakery part and I, luckily, only spot my dad. "Hey, dad, Angel and I are going upstairs to do our homework."

He glances up, and then nods. "Okay. I'll let your mum know when she gets back."

I nod, too, before we head upstairs and to my room. Once we're there, we dump our bags on the floor and get out whichever books we need for this homework. Laying them out on the floor, we quickly get to work separately, deciding that, if we ever have a problem, we will ask each other, and we'll compare answers at the end. This way, hopefully, we'll get it done much faster.

True to our wishes, we are finished within no time, sitting on the floor and leaning back onto my bed. "How was your first day of school, Angel?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Really, nothing special. Nothing in particular happened or caught my attention," she answers. "Plus, I was stuck with the loony that is my cousin."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," I complain, playfully punching her shoulder as I laugh. "And, anyway, you were in no rush to get new friends."

She smiles. "I'm playing with you, Pete," she reasons, even though she knows that I already know what she's saying. "But, saying that, we do need more friends."

I sigh. "Whatever you say, oh all-knowing one."

She laughs. "We have to find other friends. We can still be friends with each other, but we both know that we need to speak to other people, too."

"Fine." I hold my hand out for her to shake. "By the end of the week, we each have to find as many friends as we can that the other can _also_ stand."

Taking my offered hand, she smirks. "Game on, dear cousin. Game on."

* * *

**Author's Note: And we're back! I know that I said that I wouldn't do a sequel for this, but I've now changed my mind. This fanfiction will be before the Games, but I won't do much when he's five because it's difficult for me to write as a five year old; this will be the last chapter like that, and then I'll do a timeskip to when they're eleven.**

_**OpalStars:**_** I'm glad that you like it! I think I've decided to keep it along the lines of the book, just to make it easier.**

_**BrittneyluvsChrist**_** (chapter 1): It's great that you think so!**

_**BrittneyluvsChrist**_** (chapter 3): The new trailer has possibly made me even more excited!**

_**mellarklover11:**_** I will try to update eventually!**

**Next chapter: Peeta and Katniss turn eleven years old, just before a mining accident hits some of them hard.**

**Review please!**


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